Higher Education

Washington high schools are not adequately preparing students for success after graduation.

If you didn’t know that you have to take two years of world language, a fourth year of English, and at least Algebra II to get into college in Washington, and that you aren’t required to take those classes in high school—you aren’t alone here. As a state, we don’t require 12th graders to take the credits necessary for a freshman year at a state college or university.

What are the consequences of Washington’s weak standards?

It means 12th graders graduate high school ill-prepared for college, work and life. It means that 54% of high school graduates take basic classes in subjects like math before they can start earning college credit. We know not every student will choose to pursue college, however shouldn’t they at least have the option?

We think so. We think at the very minimum, we should:

• Make sure our high school students are prepared for college, work and life;
• Stop delaying, align high school graduation requirements with our state’s four-year institutions’ acceptance requirements;
• Emphasize legislation that increases our focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); and
• Give each student the help to determine a fulfilling, viable career path and a map to complete it.

And, of course, we believe that college should be within financial reach for everyone.

Each of Washington’s public universities and colleges are largely funded through state dollars (19-58%), student tuition and fees (12-30%) and grants/contracts (16-35%). Our higher education system includes two research universities, four regional colleges and 34 community and technical colleges; the system also includes five branch campuses and 10 university centers. Together, these 55 institutions educate nearly 378,000 students annually.

Need-based grants:

• Washington State has over 73,000 college students receiving some form of need-based grant or work study money.
• 34% of money awarded through state need-based grants are given to students of color.
• Without these crucial grants and low-interest loans, students will be forced to take on more debt from private banks, work more hours, or drop-out of college.

Work study:

• Work study programs provide part-time jobs to 9,400 students across the state, at 55 different campuses
• For these 9,400 students, their annual earnings of $3,000 to $4,000 make up about 15% of their average financial aid package.
• Work study jobs, on average, help fund $3,000-4,000 dollars of tuition per student, per year. Can you imagine what it would take to make up for that missing money?